Are MQL5 Marketplace purchase stats actually reliable?

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I’ve been browsing the MQL5 Marketplace recently and had a question about how reliable the purchase numbers really are.

Each EA or indicator shows how many purchases it gets per month, which should make it easier to spot popular or trusted products. But I’ve noticed some things that don’t really add up.

There are products showing very high sales numbers, like 400+ purchases per month, but they barely have any reviews. Sometimes it’s just one review, and in a few cases it’s even negative, with almost no comments either. On top of that, some of these products look very basic from the screenshots.

For example, I came across an MT5 indicator that is ranked number 1 in its category with over 400 purchases per month, but it only has one negative review and one comment.

As someone trying to find reliable tools, this makes it hard to trust the rankings. It makes me wonder:

  • Are these purchase numbers actually verified by MQL5?
  • Is there any way sellers can artificially boost their sales?
  • If that’s possible, why isn’t anything being done about it?

Would be interested to hear if anyone else has noticed this or has insight into how these stats work.

 
Let's imagine that a top seller has created a community (chat/channel/etc.) numbering thousands and thousands of clients. Before publishing a product, they make an announcement like, "New stuff will be released on Monday, with a big discount for two days after the release." In the first hours after publication, the product receives dozens or hundreds of purchases from customers who trust the seller. The first reviews will appear much later.
Very few sellers here manage to achieve something like this.
 
Miki Roberts:

I’ve been browsing the MQL5 Marketplace recently and had a question about how reliable the purchase numbers really are.

Each EA or indicator shows how many purchases it gets per month, which should make it easier to spot popular or trusted products. But I’ve noticed some things that don’t really add up.

There are products showing very high sales numbers, like 400+ purchases per month, but they barely have any reviews. Sometimes it’s just one review, and in a few cases it’s even negative, with almost no comments either. On top of that, some of these products look very basic from the screenshots.

For example, I came across an MT5 indicator that is ranked number 1 in its category with over 400 purchases per month, but it only has one negative review and one comment.

As someone trying to find reliable tools, this makes it hard to trust the rankings. It makes me wonder:

  • Are these purchase numbers actually verified by MQL5?
  • Is there any way sellers can artificially boost their sales?
  • If that’s possible, why isn’t anything being done about it?

Would be interested to hear if anyone else has noticed this or has insight into how these stats work.

Hi Miki

I will answer you as a seller who has been here on MQL5 for 3 years. Yes these numbers are real and show the actual number of tools sold and sometimes it happens as you described that there are for example 200-300 sales even within 2-3 days because before a product is released it is announced to clients who previously bought another robot so they simply wait for this product and on the release day they all come and buy it. As for reviews it is a bit different very few clients publish a review immediately many of them wait a few days or even weeks before adding it. MQL5 has no influence on the number of displayed sales or how many reviews are added and the seller has no tools here other than listing the product for sale so they cannot manipulate anything which is very good.

Have a nice day

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